Small districts work on consolidation plansBy Cristina Rodriguez Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - An April 1 deadline looms for the few Arkansas school districts who haven't found a neighboring district to join. A new law passed in the special legislative session to comply with an Arkansas Supreme Court order calls for districts with fewer than 350 students to consolidate their administrations with another district. Fifty-seven of the state's 308 districts are affected by the...

Ola making plans to get ready for school mergersBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com OLA - With the approval of the resolution to petition the Arkansas Department of Education for consolidation of the Ola, Fourche Valley and Plainview-Rover school districts, many things must occur to prepare the district to become one. At the Ola School Board meeting Monday night, Ola Superintendent Earl Jamison requested that the board to select an interim board of four members from Ola, two from Fourche...

Ola School Board approves consolidation with Plainview, Fourche Valley districtsBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com OLA - The School Board voted unanimously during its regular meeting Monday night to petition the Arkansas Department of Education Board of Directors for consolidation of the Fourche Valley, Plainview-Rover and Ola-Casa School Districts. Board members were concerned Monday night about funding, which Ola Superintendent Earl Jamison said would be sufficient. According to Jamison, Fourche Valley could possibl...

More River Valley schools looking at consolidationBy Sean Ingram judicial@couriernews.com As talks about a possible merger between the Ola, Perry-Casa, Plainview-Rover and Fourche Valley school districts progressed last week, the Western Yell County School Board conducted two special meetings and voted to suspend any further discussion concerning consolidation with the Magazine School District in Logan County. Meanwhile, the Johnson County Westside and Altus-Denning school boards met March 5 ...

2 districts look to Ola for merger: Plainview-Rover, Fourche Valley see student benefitsBy Sean Ingram judicial@couriernews.com OLA - While there is no change without inconvenience, the merger of the Plainview-Rover and Fourche Valley School Districts with the future Ola-Casa School District could be the most beneficial for their students and 3,000 patrons involved in the southern portion of Yell County. Ola Superintendent Earl Jamison, school board members and residents discussed questions and the pros and cons of a merger betwe...

Emmet denied charter school statusBy James Jefferson Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - The state Board of Education on Monday denied an application from Emmet school officials to convert the entire 297-student district to a charter school. The state Department of Education noted problems the district has had in meeting academic provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind act, as well as the district's imminent merger under a new state law requiring administrative c...

Northwest Arkansas schools begin body-fat testingSPRINGDALE (AP) - Two Northwest Arkansas public school districts have fully implemented the state's new body-fat testing procedures for students. Springdale school nursing coordinator Barbara Ludwig is preparing to replace her hearing and vision screenings with body-mass index testing this week. "I don't see us getting finished until end of May," said Ludwig, who usually administers school physicals to about 9,000 students. "We haven't even sc...

RJHS named top delegation at Model United Nations debateBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com Russellville Junior High School took home one top award among 14 middle and junior high schools from across the state to participate in the Russellville High School-sponsored 2004 Russellville Model United Nations debate Wednesday in the lecture hall of the Doc Bryan Student Services Building on the Arkansas Tech University campus. For the one-day event, each student chose a country during the first of th...

Dardanelle holds health fair for studentsBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com DARDANELLE - The first Dardanelle Middle School/ High School health fair was held Friday in the district's Multipurpose Facility. Becky Hern, middle school and high school nurse, coordinated the event. Those on-hand for the health fair included - Representatives from the American Cancer Society, Yell Co-op Extension, American Lung Association, Dardanelle Fire Department, Dardanelle Police Department, U.S....

Four for Tech: Morrilton quads agree on where to attend collegeBy Tommy Mumert Tech news bureau Allison, Erica, Lindsey and Whitney Horn, quadruplets who are seniors at Morrilton High School, do not agree on everything. It was a bit of a surprise, then, when the four girls compared notes and found that they were in complete agreement on their choice of a university to attend this fall. When classes begin this fall, all four will be freshmen at Arkansas Tech University. As recently as earlier this semester...

Russellville School Board talks about goalsBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com The Russellville School Board discussed what the school district's goals should be and what the future holds in store in the wake of legislative action Tuesday night at a school board retreat at the home of board president Virginia Berner. Members were asked to read over a list of the board's five goals for the district that will be voted on at the regular school board meeting Tuesday. They dealt with saf...

Harper named Tech trustee; former state emergency chief quit over 'insensitive' e-mailBy Mark Scott government@couriernews.com Arkansas' former emergency management director and a member of Arkansas Tech University's Hall of Distinction was appointed the university's newest trustee Wednesday, seven months after he resigned his state job amid turmoil. William R. "Bud" Harper of Fort Smith was appointed to the university's Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike Huckabee Wednesday and will serve until Jan. 14, 2009. He replaces Jim Harwoo...

Arkansas native named state education directorLITTLE ROCK (AP) - Former Little Rock school superintendent Ken James was named director of the state Department of Education on Monday, just in time to lead implementation of sweeping court-ordered public education reforms. Gov. Mike Huckabee introduced James at a Governor's Mansion news conference just moments after the state Board of Education voted unanimously to hire the Arkansas native away from the Fayette County, Ky., school district, ...

Tech emergency management program gets $500,000By Terrica Caldwell newsroom@couriernews.com Arkansas Tech University's Emergency Administration and Management Program will soon receive $500,000 in federal money that was part of the fiscal year 2004 omnibus appropriations measure approved in January. Tech President Dr. Robert C. Brown gave the credit for the funding to help from U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., and U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark. "We've been working with our congressional ...

Dardanelle School Board gets EAST Lab presentationBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com DARDANELLE - Sandy Williams, EAST Lab high school teacher, and four of her 41 students gave a presentation to the Dardanelle School Board Monday night, informing them on what they are doing. The high school EAST Lab recently received an overall rating of excellent at the 2004 EAST Conference. There are more than 50 projects the EAST students have been involved with, such as a new animal shelter in Dardane...

Special masters begin review of school changesBy James Jefferson Associated Press writer LITTLE ROCK (AP) - State-paid education experts Monday praised the Legislature's efforts to comply with court-ordered reforms and tried to discredit a $400,000 educational adequacy study that lawmakers commissioned but partly ignored. California consultant James Guthrie and his partner, James Smith, testified as a pair of state Supreme Court special masters opened a hearing on whether legislators made...

Dover School Board discusses handbookThe Dover School Board discussed a districtwide student handbook that recommended mock terror attack training at its Monday night meeting. The mock training would be completed before spring break and would include lockdown, evacuation and severe weather training. The issue of the Terrorism Policy Addition to the district's emergency plan was addressed. Included was a proposal that would require students to wear identification badges at all tim...

Russellville conference geared to parents of schoolchildrenBy Jessica Graves area@couriernews.com Russellville School Board member Margie Smith informed the board of a parent conference for the district to be held in April at its meeting Tuesday night. The conference is geared towards parents of students in kindergarten through fifth grade who are not able to attend school activities during the week with their children, said Smith. The Russellville School District Parent Institute 2004 program, sponso...

Tech to stage classic 'Our Town'An American classic will show for the first time in recent history on Arkansas Tech's stage this Thursday with the opening of "Our Town," Tech's first play of the spring season. "Our Town" was written by Thornton Wilder and premiered shortly after the Second World War, instantly becoming a staple in American theatre for its innovative lack of sets or props. With no background or physical properties, actors were forced to rely on their own acti...